


Something We Were Not Meant to See

by watery_melon_baller



Category: Among Us (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Blanket Permission, Drama, EVERY pod is coming out of this with trauma, Gen, Ghost angst, Ghosts, Horror (maybe?), Hurt very little comfort, Imposters, Murder, Mystery, Paranoia, Story written entirely in they/them pronouns, The Skeld (Among Us), but like psycological horror, space, the player characters are Not Human, they are called pods for the purpose of this story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:15:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27441787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watery_melon_baller/pseuds/watery_melon_baller
Summary: Red is both excited and nervous to be a part of the first crewed mission bound for new worlds. Then, things start going wrong on the ship. The situation escalates when the crew gets a terrible message, and a crewmate shows up dead. Now, it's a race to pick off the imposters before the whole crew is picked off themselves.
Relationships: Blue & Red (Among Us), Green & Lime (Among Us), but these are the most developed ones, everyone on the crew has a relationship with each other
Comments: 31
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ayy welcome to my first serious fanfic. Not Crack! I spent many an evening doing this instead of my homework. I do hope my efforts had some payoff. Also the summary makes it sound really bad and completely generic, I'm sorry, I'm bad at summaries.

It’d be fun, they said. 

How wrong they had been. 

Through the last hundreds of years, the world had prospered. Society had expanded, explored, flourished. Into the seas, the poles, the highest mountaintops, civilization had conquered. 

The only frontier left was space. And Red wanted to be one of the first to conquer it.

But when the opportunity to be part of the mission had come up, Red had hesitated. Conquering the stars had always been their dream, but now that the chance was now right in front of them, doubt crept in. But their parent had encouraged them, reminding them that it had always been their dream. It’d be fun, they said. 

That push was all Red had needed. They’d trained with all their strength, throwing themself into the task. When the letter came, telling them that they’d been accepted into the program, they swore they were going to burst from the elation. 

They’d immediately called all their friends and family to tell them the good news. Out of thousands, the guys on top had picked Red! Their parent had been overjoyed for them, their friends a bit bittersweet. But Red assured everyone that they’d still exchange messages, and the journey was only set to last five years, seven at the max. 

The goal? To find other planets, other life, places to which their race could expand and thrive. At first, three simultaneous missions would be sent out, bound for seperate systems. Teams of ten would man each vessel. Red was assigned to mission designation III. 

The weeks of training sped by, hours and days blurring together. Red didn’t quite understand the reasoning (something about security, they said?), but they wouldn’t meet their fellow crewmates until the mission departed. Finally, that day came. 

Red had to admit, they were a little nervous. What if they were a failure, or all their crewmates hated them? Anxiety churned like a knot in their center. Still, they walked into the transport which would take the crew to Skeld III. No one else had arrived. Red berated themself. They’d already made a fool of themself! This was going to be a disaster. 

They stiffened as they heard someone arrive. _Make a good impression!,_ they told themself. 

The newcomer spoke first, before Red could turn to meet them. “Hello!”, they said. They waved. Red gave a small, sheepish wave back. 

The newcomer continued. “I’m Blue. You’re here early too, I see.”

Red gave a nod. “I _wanted_ to make a good impression. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.”

“You made a good impression on me.” Blue shrugged. 

Red’s center fluttered. “Thanks.” They resisted. “I’m… Red?”

“Nice to meet you, Red.” Blue gave them a grin. 

Slowly, the rest of the crew trickled into the transport. A nervous pod who introduced themself as Yellow arrived, taking a seat quickly. Then, sullen Black, who took a seat and only gave curt head nods or shakes to any attempts at conversation. Orange flounced in without any care for their fellows. Red immediately disliked them. 

White looked everything over with an analytical gaze before sitting. Pink, in contrast, flew through the door full of energy, speaking at a mile a minute as they introduced themself. Green walked in heavily, making no attempt at greeting as they took their seat with a sigh. Purple greeted everyone with a veiled smile, introducing themself before taking a seat next to Red. 

Lime was last, running in with gaze darting about. Moments after Lime arrived, the hatch whirred shut with a hydraulic hiss, and control bid them to stand by over comms. They all strapped into their seats and listened for the liftoff countdown. 

It came swiftly, and the boosters fired. The transport left the atmosphere, then shot off. Red slipped out of consciousness as the trip began. 

\------

Red’s senses returned as the transport neared the ship. They gasped as they returned to consciousness. Rapidly, Red unstrapped from their seat and leapt out of it to run to stand beneath the roof window. Outside the transport was the vast expanse of space, dotted with bright white stars. And there in the distance? Red’s gaze grew wide as they took in the magnificent ship. It was somehow even more incredible than they had imagined. 

A derisive snort cut into their awe. “Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Red turned around to see Orange leering at them mockingly. They noted that Yellow was also awake, but had neither spoken nor moved from their seat. 

Red took a deep breath, not wanting to create conflict with the pod they would be spending the next several years of their life with, and said calmly, “It really is beautiful.” 

“What, those? It’s nothing you can’t see from a mansion rooftop back planetside.”

“I think it’s great!” The exclamation came from Pink, who had somehow woken up unnoticed within that brief exchange. They, like Red, starred up through the window, gaze just as wide. 

Red decided they liked Pink. 

The rest of the crew woke up gradually, until all had unstrapped and milled about the transport. The transport docked to the ship, and the crew moved to disembark. 

Red still felt a little awkward among their crewmates, particularly after Orange’s mocking. Now, with more energy and action buzzing through all present, Red saw an opportunity to make connections. 

Blue had been nice. They’d approach them, Red decided. 

Red gave an awkward wave as they walked up next to Blue, who was grabbing their carry on from where it was stored in a crate. Blue greeted back enthusiastically. 

“Would you like to maybe look around together?”, Red asked. 

“Sounds great!” Blue agreed. They let out a satisfied ‘aha!’ as they found their bag, which they stowed before turning back to Red. 

“Do you mind if I grab mine?”, Red asked. 

“Go for it.”

Red hastily rifled through the crate they’d put their bag in, not wanting to hold Blue up. They found it and stowed it away. Blue, seeing they were done, beckoned Red. Red went to them as fast as they could, accidentally running into Lime, who shot them a weird look before turning away. 

Ignoring that, Red caught up to Blue. They took a tour of the ship. Medbay, engines, reactor, electrical. Both of them already knew everything about the vessel- instructors had laid each part out in painful detail during training- but it was different to actually be there. The enormity of this journey they had undertaken hit Red like a wave. 

Blue noticed, stopping where they stood in the hallway outside of electrical. “You ok?”

Red nodded. They swallowed and gave a thumbs up. “Yep, great!” Even they could hear the thinly veiled strain in the utterance. 

Blue gave a chuckle. “It’s all a little overwhelming, isn’t it?” 

That had been exactly what Red had been thinking. They nodded. 

“It’s ok to be overwhelmed, especially now. It’s only the first day. But just think of how amazing this will be! We’ll be able to help pods, all of them back down planetside. This is an experience so few will ever get. That’s something, right?” 

Red looked up, their anxiety beginning to dissipate. “Yeah, actually”, they smiled. “Thanks. That helped.”

“Just doing my job.” Blue gave Red an exaggerated two-fingered salute, which earned them a small laugh from Red. “Now come on. We’ve still got half the ship to tour!” 

\------

It was twelve weeks in when things started going wrong. Red bolted up from their cot to the blaring of an alarm. Across from them, Yellow shot to their feet, gaze wide and breathing hard. 

“What’s happening?”, Yellow asked frantically, voice even shakier than usual. 

Red scrambled to check their comm. Alarm shot through them when they saw the display. “Oxygen’s down.”

Yellow began to tremble. “Oh, deities, we are going to die…”

“Come on!”, Red called. “We need to fix two terminals.” 

Red slammed the pad to open the door and ran out, Yellow scurrying behind. From the room across the small antechamber, Black and Orange emerged. “Two terminals, idiots!”, Orange bellowed. Red couldn’t stop themself from rolling their gaze. Even in a deadly crisis, Orange was the same obnoxious jerk. 

Black was as stoic as ever, offering only a nod before following Orange out stiffly. 

Emerging into the hall, Red saw all their crewmates coming out of their cabins, in various states of alertness. White immediately took charge. While the group had no official leader, White had quickly filled the role. They fit into it well. They had a way of putting pods at ease, and a confidence that afforded them the ability to hold everyone’s attention. 

“Two teams!”, White asserted. “Blue, take Lime, Yellow, Orange, and Pink to the terminal in Oxygen. Red, Black, Green, Purple, you’re with me. Be quick, we’re on a time limit.” White didn’t miss a beat as they purposefully turned and set a brisk pace towards Admin. Red saw Blue give a nod and head down the other hall to Oxygen. 

Red hurried after White to Admin, along with the other three pods White had designated in their group. Their mind whirled. This ship was supposed to be foolproof. And they were only twelve weeks in! How had the oxygen broken so fast? Red shook their head. _Focus._ They could think about the implications of this later. Right now, they needed it fixed before their air ran out. 

The group reached oxygen. White immediately went to the terminal and imput the override code. Red couldn’t think of what they could do to help, with White clearly having the situation under control, so they stood back awkwardly along with all the others in their team. White finished inputting the code, but for a tense moment the alarm continued to blare. The relief was palpable when the noise ceased. 

White turned back to the group. Even they were affected, their normally rigid posture slightly slumped. “Good job, crew. This was a success. There will, of course, be some follow up, but we can discuss that more once we reconvene.”

White typed something into their comm before leading the group out of Admin. As they walked, Purple fell into step beside Red, their expression a smile that seemed more than a little forced. “That was weird”, they said nonchalantly.

Red made an awkward gesture. “Yep.” 

They lapsed into silence until Purple asked, “So, any idea what happened?”

“It must have been a malfunction.”

“Strange that it happened. Guess things have to break sometimes, huh?” They gave a laugh that died off awkwardly. The conversation didn’t pick up again, and the group made their way to meet up in the cafeteria. 

Red’s group arrived first. The pods stood waiting in silence as the tension grew, the implications of the oxygen failure sinking in. Dread settled in a dense knot in Red’s center. Finally, Red heard footsteps and turned to see Blue leading the second group to the cafeteria. 

White acknowledged them before moving to address the whole crew. “This was a bad situation, but thank you all for being so on top of it. We were able to fix the oxygen on time and are no worse for the wear. Still, this does bring up some questions.” White paused to look around at each of the crew members. “It is quite unusual that our oxygen unit would malfunction so severely this early into our mission. Control will, of course, need to be informed of this. I do not believe that this was a purposeful attack, but there is the possibility that one of us made a mistake. All I ask is that in the future we all pay more attention to make sure that our duties are performed on time and correctly.” White gave a reassuring smile. “It’s late, and we should all get back to our cots.” 

Murmurs of agreement rippled throughout the gathered crew. With nothing more to be said, they dispersed. Red trudged tiredly back to their room, returning ahead of Yellow. They settled into their rest, turning over to stare at the metallic wall. 

This was alright. _Everything is going to be fine,_ they told themself. _Right?_

\------

The malfunctions got more frequent.

In the weeks following that first terrifying, barely-averted crisis with oxygen, more and more things went wrong. Wires showed up mysteriously frayed and broken, the reactor failed and had to be stabilized, comms went dead, the lights failed. It put everyone on edge as tempers got shorter and sleep grew fragmented. Red was, frankly, scared. 

Finally, White decided to call a meeting, sending the notice out on comms, which thankfully hadn’t malfunctioned that day. Red quickly finished discharging the garbage from storage and made their way to the cafeteria. They were one of the last to arrive. Only Lime and Black arrived after them. 

Once everyone was there, though, Orange’s grating, obnoxious voice said, “Which of you idiots is screwing up?” Red had to employ all their willpower not to scream. Why, of all the pods to be stuck on a malfunctioning ship with, did they have to be stuck with _Orange?_

To Red’s shock, it was the normally stoic Black who blew up at Orange. “Would you just SHUT UP?”, they growled furiously, glaring daggers at Orange. They looked ready to murder them right where they stood. 

Black’s outburst did its job. Orange, gaze wide, was cowed. They hastily scurried away from Black, leaving the crew to all stand in an awkward silence. Pink coughed. 

Finally, it was Lime who broke the silence. “So… what are we all here for?”

Red thought it was rather obvious what they were all here for. White spoke up, taking charge as always. “Right. I called you all here to discuss all the issues our ship has been having. It’s clear now that this is not an isolated malfunction; this is much more serious. I can’t help but fear that this is deliberate.” 

Pink interrupted, their expression one of slight confusion. “Are you saying that someone is doing this on purpose?” 

“That is what I fear, yes.”

White was again interrupted, this time by a loud buzz from each of the crews’ comms. Red pulled up their display with surprise to see a video message. They downloaded it, confused. Who was sending them all a message, all at the same time? It loaded to show that it had originated from Skeld II. Red’s confusion grew. Why would their sibling ship be sending them a message, directly? If it were relevant information, it should have been relayed through command. 

Blue looked up, their tone quizzical. “Are we all getting this message from Skeld II?”

“Yeah.” 

“Yep.” 

“Uh-huh.”

“Should we all just watch this together?”, asked Blue. “It seems important.” 

“Good idea”, agreed White. They fiddled with their comm so the display was projected upward from the device and set it on the table with the video pulled up. Looking around at their crewmates, White pushed play. 

They were immediately assaulted with screams. Red recoiled in surprise, noticing Yellow and Lime do the same. The video footage was extremely shaky, stuttering and interspersed with static. The pod filming it seemed to be running, tarnished and marred floor panelling flashing across the screen. Along with the screams, Red heard heavy breathing, crying, an awful metallic screeching, and the sounds of glass shattering. 

A voice cut in through the auditory assault as the camera moved up to show a face. It was just as staticky and shaky as the rest of the video. “This is… Brown… Skeld II… monsters…” The footage cut off as the device being used was thrown, and the camera cracked, fragmenting the view. There was a thud, and a scream that was cut off abruptly by a sickening crunch. 

The device was picked up again with pounding footsteps. A door slammed, and then the camera moved up to focus on the same face from earlier. The audio managed to come through more clearly, the horrifying sounds muffled. “I don’t have much time”, the figure, who Red assumed was the same Brown from earlier, whispered urgently. “They’re coming, they’re all coming…” Brown’s voice devolved into a shaky whimper before they pulled themself together. 

“Listen, now. What I am about to tell you is critical to your survival. Maybe some of you, at least, can make it out of this. There are imposters among you. Aliens, monsters, infiltrating your crew.” Another shaky breath. “No way to tell who they are. The only way to kill them is to throw them out of your ship and get away as fast as you can. The Skelds… the Skelds have a failsafe. A system to throw out traitors. The monsters can’t escape that. It takes a majority vote to activate.” 

Brown stopped as there was a sickening crunch against the door. “I don’t have much time, so _listen._ You need to use this system, throw them out. You have to figure it out. Once the failsafe is activated, you have to throw someone out after every murder. It’s awful, it’s so awful…” Brown’s voice trailed off in a sob, “but if you don’t use this, you will all _die_. Please… please save yourselves!” There was pounding at the door. Relentless. Brown sobbed. The device fell, and there was a wrenching of metal. A crash. A scream. The feed went dead. 

The crew of Skeld III could only stare in horrified silence as the video closed out. 

Finally, Yellow whispered, “Oh, deities.” 

A choked cry escaped Pink. 

Red, themself, was in shock. That had been _awful._ What was happening there, what was _attacking_ , it was something alien. Something incomprehensible. Something they were not meant to see. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew makes a decision. The crew faces the consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a monster of a chapter. I just had a ton of plot beats to fit into this part, and there was no better way to divy it up. I hope you all enjoy!

No one was in any state to have a discussion after that. There was a silent agreement to all go off and take some time to process. Finally, the crew reconvened that evening. 

Even those who were normally talkative were silent. White didn’t take charge. Pink didn’t pipe up. Orange didn’t butt in with some jerkish comment. It was Blue who ended up beginning, voice soft and muted. 

“We’re not going to activate that system, right?”

Silence followed, then- “What if we have to?” It was Green. 

“Surely we’d kill more than we’d save?” said Pink. 

“And nothing really terrible has happened here yet”, Red spoke up. “No one has been hurt. Just a few malfunctions.”

“Yeah”, said Purple. “They’re probably totally unrelated, right? It was probably just that other ship that was infiltrated.” 

Red heard Yellow, standing beside them, mumble cautiously “We should activate our system, to be safe”, but clearly none of the other pods heard the quiet utterance. 

White finally stepped up. “We should vote. All in favor of activating the system, raise your hand.” Orange’s hand moved up confidently, then more slowly Green’s, and finally Yellow’s. 

“All in favor of leaving it off?”, asked White. Both Blue and Lime raised their hands, followed by Pink. Red raised their own hand, then Purple as well. 

White nodded. “That’s a decision, then. We won’t activate the system.” There were nods all around, although Red could sense the unease coming from the three crew members who had wanted to activate the system. Black hadn’t voted, which wasn’t a surprise. Red found them a bit creepy, if they were honest. So aloof. Thinking about it, they hardly even knew anything about them, despite being on this mission for months. 

The group dispersed. Red made their way over to Blue. Since that first day, the kind pod had become Red’s closest confidant on the mission. 

“I’m glad we didn’t activate that system”, Blue said. “I can’t imagine just voting to murder someone like that.”

Red nodded in agreement. “What… happened on that other mission…” A shiver pulsed in Red’s center. “I can’t imagine.” 

Blue shuddered. “I don’t even want to think about it.” 

“What tasks do you have today?”, Red asked, changing the subject. “Maybe we have something together.” 

Blue glanced at their comm. “I have to finish up a download in nav.” 

“I have to chart our course. Let’s head there together.” Red’s gaze skimmed the cafeteria. “I’m… not sure I want to be alone right now.” 

The two pods fell into step beside each other, walking down the east hallway. They found Lime when they arrived at nav. They were just standing, staring into space, not reacting to the entrance of Red and Blue. “Hey”, Blue called, causing Lime to jump back. 

“Oh!”, they said, looking between Red and Blue. “I’m sorry, I probably shouldn’t be in here.” Saying nothing more, they scurried out the doorway.

Red looked at Blue. “That was weird.”

Blue made an “I don’t know” noise. “Hasn’t Lime always been a little weird?”

Red tipped their head. “I guess so.”

The two went about their respective tasks. Focused on the dashboard, Red absentmindedly asked, “If you had one day left on this ship, how would you spend it?” 

Blue let out a “hmm” from where they stood by the data terminal. “I don’t know. I’ve really enjoyed it up here. It’d be a shame to leave. But…” A pause. “I think I’d spend it trying to learn as much as I can. Just, crystalize some memories, you know? Go out with a bang.”

Red nodded. “That seems like a good idea.”

“How about you?”, Blue asked. 

“I’d want to say goodbye to everyone.” Red paused. “Ok, maybe not everyone. Orange is an ass.” Red heard Blue stifle a laugh. 

“They are, aren’t they?” Collecting themself, Blue continued, “We should finish up. It’s getting late, and I’m up for a break.” Red gave a noise of agreement. 

Soon, the two were back in the cafeteria for the evening. Yellow, and White were there as well. Yellow just sat, seemingly not recovered from earlier. White sat on, intently reading something pulled up on their comm. The atmosphere was uncomfortably tense. Each pod looked around with a distrust that hadn’t been there that morning. The message had shaken them all, Red could tell. 

Orange barged in the south door _very_ loudly with a look of sleazy satisfaction plastered across their jerkish face. 

Ok. Maybe not all. 

Red turned away with a deep breath, squashing their anger deep in their center. “It’s not worth it”, they muttered tightly. 

“It isn’t”, Blue said amiably. The two sat. Red slowed their center. The calm was something they very much needed Blue remained aside, letting Red be. 

Red was abruptly jerked out of their rest by a terrified shout. “Pink is dead!” Their gaze shot up in surprise as they saw it was Purple who had run in. They were frantic, fear clouding their gaze. 

White took charge, but their fear, too, was clear. Still, they kept their tone deadly serious as they asked, “Where did you find them? We need to know everything you saw.” 

Purple was shaking, Red noticed. There was no trace of the amiable mask they usually held. 

“I- I found them in security”, Purple said between shaky breaths. “There was no one around, and their body was just-” Purple gulped. “Dead.”

White glanced to the side and sucked in a breath. “I’m going to call everyone here. Then, we can all go look at the body.” Yellow made a choked squeaking noise. 

Red traded a glance with Blue, their alarm mirrored in their friend. “So soon after that message…”, Red whispered. 

Blue just nodded, turning to look back at White. 

Soon, the remaining crew members were gathered. All wore grim expressions. White coughed, took a breath, then began. “As I told you all in the message, Pink is… dead. Purple found them in security just recently. I figured it would be best if we all go together to look at the site, and then proceed from there.” 

Murmurs of agreement rippled throughout the crew, but were interrupted by Lime asking, “What do you think happened to them?” 

An uncomfortable silence blanketed the space, so quiet that Red could hear the engines humming rooms over. Finally, Orange (of COURSE it was Orange) said, “Isn’t it obvious, nitwit? They were murdered.” 

Red winced. It made it more palpable to hear it said so bluntly. “Shouldn’t we be going?”, they asked, voice strained. They wanted to move off the subject, push it out as long as possible. 

The group moved towards security. Dread swirled in Red’s center. They had never seen a real dead body before, and they weren’t eager to. When the crew got there, Red discreetly dropped to the back of the group, desperately trying to lengthen the time they had before they had to see it. 

But everyone went in. And then it was Red’s turn. Trying to steel themself, but hardly succeeding, Red walked into security and gazed upon Pink’s corpse. 

It was horrifying, deeply unsettling in a raw and visceral way. Red immediately averted their gaze, shaking, but the image remained seared in their mind, reaching tendrils down to squeeze their center. It was so _wrong_ . The entire top half, sheared clean off with the missing portion nowhere to be seen. Their innards exposed, red and raw. And worst of all, their center, openly displayed, but missing the critical glow of life Red _knew_ it should have. It was so, so horrifying. 

Red barely even heard as White said, voice steady, “This is a tragedy. Pink was a great crewmate, always bringing so much happiness and energy to this ship. They will be greatly missed, and if there was any way their loss could have been prevented, I would take it. There will be time to mourn Pink, but now we need to make a plan of action. I believe this is what the message from our sibling ship warned us of. I believe that we, too, have been infiltrated.”

Green, usually so quiet, spoke. “Does this mean… we’re going to activate the system? The failsafe.” 

White dipped their head. “That, as last time, is up to a vote.” 

The pressure in Red’s center had been building through the whole exchange. Now it all came out in a rush. With a sharp breath, they let out a strained yell. “Canwepleasegosomewherethere’snotadeadbody!” Their hands flew to their face, trying to block out their vision. 

White’s voice came gently. “Of course. Let’s all head back to the cafeteria.” Red felt a hand on their back, seeing Blue with relief. They were glad for the comfort, and pushed into it slightly. They hung back as footsteps sounded, retreating from security. 

Blue’s voice came, soft and soothing. “Are you ok?”

Red gave a tense nod, pushing the heels of their hands harder into their gaze. Blue stood with them for a long time. When Red felt ready, they moved, walking slowly out of the room. They immediately felt better once they were in the hallway. 

“I’m going to shut the door, ok?”, Blue said gently. Red nodded, not trusting words to come out right yet. They heard electronic beeping, and then the hydraulic whirr as the doors to security shut. 

“I’m r- I’m ready to walk now”, Red said, voice shakier than they would have liked. 

“Ok”, Blue said gently. They moved slowly, but made their way back to the cafeteria, where the discussion was already going on in full force. 

“We can’t activate it!”, Purple was saying. 

“Are all of you idiots?”, Orange said. “Of course we need to activate the system!”

“We should activate it”, agreed Green, albeit with no enthusiasm. 

White cut in, their gaze falling on Blue and Red. “Do either of you have anything to add?” They asked. 

“I still don’t think we should activate it”, Blue said. “How could any of us live with ourselves, if we actually killed pods to save ourselves?”

“No one will be saved if we don’t do this”, Yellow said quietly. The conversation took a pause as everyone considered Yellow’s words. 

“We’ll vote, like last time”, White said finally, pressing their hands together. “All in favor of activating the system?” Orange, Green, and Yellow raised their hands. After a moment of deliberation and an apologetic look at Blue, Red did as well. 

“All in favor of leaving it off?” Blue, Lime, Purple and surprisingly Black raised their hands. 

White sucked in a breath. “A tie, then. That means I will vote as well.” They looked at each of the crew members slowly. Red could sense the calculation whirring behind their shrewd gaze. Finally, they said, “I vote to activate the system.” 

Immediately, an alarm sounded. Red’s head snapped up. A mechanical voice blared from all the ship’s speakers. “You have made the choice to activate Skeld III’s failsafe. I am glad.” There was a pause, and then a deep humming. “I have detected a dead body. Procedure activated.” There was a strange woosh, and Red felt an uncomfortable pinching sensation as their vision blanked for a moment. When it returned, Red was surprised to find themself standing around the central table in the cafeteria, in the middle of which there was now a large red button, marked “emergency”. The rest of the crew was around the table as well, their gazes betraying varying degrees of confusion. 

The freaky mechanical voice came in again, unsettlingly chipper. “Time to discuss! Who are you going to vote out?”

“Wait, vote out?”, Yellow asked. Their breaths became panicked. “I thought we’d have time!” 

_Oh deities, what have we gotten ourselves into?_ Red thought, fear rising in their center. White suddenly looked to be very much regretting their tiebreaking vote to activate the system. 

“You have 7 minutes remaining!”, the voice chirped. 

“What are we supposed to do?”, asked Purple, glancing around worriedly. 

“Vote, obviously”, Orange said, looking very smug.

“How are we supposed to make a decision? We have no information!”, Lime cried. 

“6 minutes remaining!”, came the voice unhelpfully. 

Blue held up their hands. “Everybody, we need to calm down! We made this decision and can’t take it back. So let’s just look over what we have. What are everyone’s alibis?”

“I- I was in the cafeteria with White”, Yellow stammered. 

“I can confirm that”, White said. They still wrung their hands nervously. _It’s a good thing Blue took charge,_ Red thought. _I don’t think I’ve ever seen White this distraught._ It was disconcerting to see White, who had always been able to gather the courage to lead despite the many stressful situations this ship threw at them. 

“Alright”, Blue continued. “I was with Red in nav. Then we went to the cafeteria.” Red nodded in response. 

Lime gulped. “I was in electrical. No one was there with me, but I passed someone in the hall on my way in there. I think it was Green… or maybe Black?” That alibi seemed rather shaky to Red. 

“You all know where _I_ was, obviously”, Orange said obnoxiously. They spread their hands wide, smacking Red square in the face. Red hissed out a breath, trying to control their anger at this. Of all times, this was very solidly not one to explode at Orange. 

“You all must have seen me coming into the cafeteria”, Orange continued. 

“How could we not”, Red muttered passive-aggressively. 

“Hm?”

Red sucked in a breath. “Nothing.” Their voice was tight. 

“We did see you walking in”, Blue said. “Very shortly before Purple found the body.” 

“3 minutes remaining!”, that deities-awful mechanical voice chimed in. “The voting period has begun! Please select the crew member you wish to eject on the screen that has pulled up on your comm. Remember, you cannot change your vote, so choose wisely!”

“This is sick”, whispered Green, looking a fair bit sick themself. 

“I think we need to speed this up”, Blue said quickly. “Green, alibi.”

“Uh”, Green looked startled to be put on the spot. “I was in communications. I think Purple saw me?”

“Yeah, I think so”, Purple said. 

“Black?”

“Lower engine”, they grunted. “I saw Lime in the hallway.”

“That seems right”, Lime agreed. 

“Purple?”

“I found the body!” 

“Ok, ok. We can never be too sure.” Blue clapped their hands together. “I think that’s everybody. Who are we…” Blue paused as a pained look crossed their gaze. “...voting.” _Voting is hardly an adequate term for what we are about to do_ , Red thought, nausea rising. 

“I think Orange’s alibi is the weakest”, Lime offered. 

“Ripe words coming from you”, Orange sneered. They put on an imitation of Lime and a mockingly pouty expression. “Did _Green_ see me? Or was it Lime? How could I ever remember the simplest of details?”

Hurt came over Lime’s face, and they shrunk back. 

“Back. Off.” It was Green. That was odd. They were usually so withdrawn. “You are such a _pathetic_ little asshole”, they snarled, voice rising. “You have _no right_ to belittle and mock pods like that. You’re a steaming pile of _garbage_. You probably killed Pink! And I bet you planned to kill the rest of us, huh? This entire mission, you have been nothing but awful to everyone who has the displeasure of coming into contact with you. It’s about time we get rid of you!” Fury Red had never seen from the pessimistic pod burned in their gaze. 

Red wholeheartedly agreed with all of Green’s points, though. 

“One minute left! Please cast your votes!” 

Panic shot through Red. They were really going to do this. Condemn one of the eight other pods standing at this table to die. They didn’t even know exactly what would happen once the votes were cast. They didn’t want to know.

Still, it had to be done. And it was no question to Red who they would vote for. 

Steeling themself, they clicked the rectangle bearing Orange’s name and picture on their comm. 

“Voting has now closed! Let’s take a look at the results!” 

A screen projected up from the center of the table, showing the same view as Red’s comm. Gradually, icons of each crew member’s photo popped up next to one name: Orange. Only Orange’s own icon popped up next to a different name, Lime’s. This display was so light, not at all befitting the task it fulfilled. 

“Looks like you have chosen to eject Orange! Activating protocol.”

There was a deafening grinding of gears and machinery. On either side of the table, the floor panels opened up to reveal huge mechanical arms. They came up on either side of Orange, who started screaming. The mechanical arms took hold of Orange, clamping tightly around their body as they screeched. “Let me go! I’m innocent, you dumbasses! Let me go!” 

The arms took no heed of this. They slid forward relentlessly towards the airlock on the northeast wall of the cafeteria. Orange’s insults devolved into terror. They cried out and clawed at the arms clamped around them, but it was no use. 

Red got the feeling they had made the wrong choice. 

At that point, Purple tried to move. “Wait! I take it back, stop! I don’t want to be… I don’t want…” They tried to move, but just jerked in Orange’s direction while staying firmly planted by the table. Seeing this, Red too tried to move. They found that, to their horror, they were stuck in place, unable to move from where their feet were planted.

The airlock’s inner door opened. The arms slid in with Orange in their clutches. The chamber sealed. The outer door opened. 

Red could still hear Orange’s screams as they were sucked into the vacuum. 

“Good work, crew!”, came that _horrible_ voice. Red wanted it to stop. “Analyzing reaction.” There was a pause, the rough hiss of machinery engaging within the ship. _What is it doing?_ Finally, the voice said, still sickeningly peppy, “Unfortunately, the crew member you ejected was not an imposter! There are still two imposters remaining. You are free to go!” In that moment, Red felt very sick. 

Red could feel as an invisible pressure on their legs dissipated. They could move again. They weren’t sure they wanted to. 

Both Purple and Yellow were sobbing. Everyone looked to be in shock. Red certainly was. Red had to get away. Without any conversation, they ran off to their quarters and lay on their cot. They lay there for a long time, thoughts whirling. Above all: _What have we done? What have we done?_

\---

The atmosphere on the ship was permanently changed after the system was activated. Mostly, it was the constant fear that someone would be killed and they’d have to do that again. Or that they’d have to do that again anyway. 

But there was also a new mistrust, stronger than before, that the killer was just around the corner, waiting to strike. Pink’s death had confirmed without doubt that a murderer was here, on this ship.

Just like on Skeld II. 

Still, what could any of them do but try to continue life on the ship? There were still tasks to be done. They couldn’t just stop everything to try and process. Currently, Red was with Yellow in electrical, downloading data. 

“Hey, Red?”, Yellow said from where they stood by the frayed wires.

Red looked up. “What is it?”

Yellow looked away. “I- I just wanted to thank you for getting the group out of security when we went to look at… Pink’s body.” They shuddered. 

“Oh”, Red said, shame rising as they remembered their reaction. “All I did was panic.”

“I’m still glad”, Yellow said. “I- I mean I’m not glad that you panicked! That’s horrible. I just- I mean I was really freaked out too, and I just wanted to get out of there but I couldn’t say anything but then you did and I could get away…” Yellow pushed their head into their hands. “I’m so sorry, this is all coming out wrong…” 

Red cut them off. “No, it’s ok! I get what you’re saying. I’m happy I could help.” They smiled. 

Yellow nodded emphatically. Red turned back to their task, finishing up the download. They glanced at their comm, seeing they had to scan in medbay. They closed off their comm and left electrical. 

Red didn’t like walking alone. The empty hallway made them paranoid. _Although, I suppose paranoia is fitting for this situation,_ they thought. They emerged into the lower engine, passing Black as they emerged from the north hallway. Red walked quickly past them into the north hallway, through the upper engine, and down the short hall to medbay. 

Green was there. 

Green was dead. 

~~~

Was this what it felt like to be dead?

Green didn’t feel dead. 

But they had, undeniably, been killed. Murdered. By one of their own, just as Skeld II had warned. 

It had been Black. The imposter. Green had been analysing samples in the medbay when they came in. Green had suspected nothing. Fool. It had been horrifying as their suit opened up to reveal a deep, monstrous maw. This pod had no center. A needle-tongue had shot out to pierce into Green’s body before they could even comprehend what was happening. 

Now, they floated above their severed corpse. This had been inevitable, they supposed, with such killers on the roam. They’d already gotten Pink. 

But now.... Green wasn’t simply gone from existence, as they’d always suspected would happen after they fell. Perhaps, just maybe, there was a chance they could do something. _Or_ , they thought, _is this new plane just some cruel torture?_

No hurt in trying. _Nothing better to do_. They would have sighed, but noted they no longer could. 

They moved out of the medbay. Floated. Movement was strange, far more fluid than it had ever been in life. No more legs, just an undulating tail. Into the cafeteria. Their body (tenuous a term as that was) moved straight through tables. Walls too, it seemed. Small victories, in an abysmally terrible situation. All of Green’s thoughts were scattered and wispy. 

Movement caught Green’s gaze, and they turned to see Lime, coming in through the east doorway. Green had liked Lime. They had a way of going off into their own thoughts, but Green had always found Lime their closest friend on the ship. They moved to them, but found with dismay they showed no reaction to their presence. Green had thought Lime had liked them at least enough to acknowledge them. But after they moved directly in front of Lime, to the point they knew their presence couldn’t be ignored (Green had never known Lime to be much of an actor, and they were rubbish at lying), Green realized Lime really _couldn’t_ see them. 

This plane was some kind of cruel torture, then. Doomed to roam, purposeless and alone. A wisp. A ghost. 

Dejected even more than usual, Green drifted away from Lime, a reminder of experiences they could never again have. But to their shock, they were greeted by another figure. Not another figure like Lime, solid and grounded, but a figure like them, transparent and wavering. And resembling someone they’d never thought they’d see again. 

“Pink?”, Green asked. 

“Green”, Pink smiled, an expression void of some of the cheeriness Green remembered them having in life. 

“You can see me, then”, said Green, more of a statement than a question. 

“Yeah”, Pink said with a chuckle. “I assume you know what that means by now.”

“We’re both dead”, said Green, with a hint of sadness. 

“Yeah.”

“Have you been alone in… this state since you were killed?”

“No, actually. Orange is here too. Somewhere.” 

“Oh.” Green remembered voting off Orange, throwing them out despite their protests. Horror blossomed within them as they thought back to the murder of the innocent. The crew had killed them. Green had _helped._ Somehow, it seemed more real now that they were dead too. 

Pink, seeming to notice Green’s distress, floated closer. “It’s not all bad, being dead, you know. There are still things we can do to help!” 

“Help?” 

“Yeah! You know how stuff’s always breaking on the ship? We can fix that!”

“Oh.” Green perked up a little. “Then this isn’t all pointless.”

“I wouldn’t say so at all! We can still help, and we still have each other. And we can watch over our crewmates, like guardians.”

For the first time since their death, Green gave a small half smile. “That is good, I guess.” 

“Come on! I can show you how it works.” Pink beckoned Green as they floated down the hallway towards electrical. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew faces their new reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry (to anyone who cares about this story) that this chapter is so short. There wasn't a ton of content or plot to fit into this one with the way I have the story planned. Also sorry it took so long, as I was both busy and had writer's block. But now that I'm finally on break I hope to get at least one more (hopefully longer) chapter of this story out.

After Red saw the body, they let out a choked cry. They had to report this. Even as nausea rose in their center they pulled out their comm and sent the message. 

Immediately, they found themself at that central table. All their crewmates were there. The ones still left. 

There was silence, until the dreaded mechanical voice came. “You have nine minutes remaining! Please discuss.” 

“No, no no”, muttered Yellow, panic leaking through in their voice. 

Red’s gaze immediately snapped to Blue’s, looking there for comfort. There was fear in Blue’s gaze, but also a steadiness which gave Red strength. Blue’s comforting nod pushed down a tiny bit of Red’s fear. 

“We…” A pause. “We have to discuss.” The voice was White’s. It carried a taught strain. They hadn’t fully recovered their leadership after that first vote. As a result, Blue shouldered more of their responsibility. A natural choice, Red thought. The whole crew could look up to them. They had a level center. Not the same sense for relations White had, but it was enough. 

Now, it seemed White would be in the lead this session. “We have to do this”, they continued, voice steadier. “We should gather all the information, so we can make the best decision. We’re going to go through what everyone was doing.” They turned. “Lime?”

Lime’s expression was unsteady and forced. “I- uh- I was in oxygen, then I came to the cafeteria…” 

White nodded and turned to Purple. “I was in shields. You saw me, White”, they said. They were trying to put up a facade of confidence, but Red could tell it was false. 

“Yes”, White confirmed before looking to Blue. 

“I was in comms.” Blue’s confidence was far less shaky than Purple’s. 

The conversation picked up after that, moving on without prompting. “I was in engines”, growled Black. 

“I- I was in electrical”, Yellow said, sounding unsure. 

Red nodded. “Yeah, Yellow was with me. I left to go to medbay and then I…” They trailed off, not wanting to think about it. 

“Five minutes remaining!” 

A tide of urgency came over the table. Someone cursed. White clasped their hands, raising their voice to be heard. “Lime and Black, no one corroborated your stories. Can anyone now?” 

Red hesitated, thinking back. They had seen Black. And they had been in engines. But they had been moving away from engines. Away from  _ medbay _ . But they didn’t want to throw around accusations. If they voiced their suspicions about Black, and Black was innocent…

They didn’t want that on their conscience. 

Each pod was still gazing around at the others. Black was as impassive as ever, while Lime had some panic in their gaze. Red decided. 

“I saw Black… and I think…”, Red paused as a queasy mixture of dread and regret for speaking rose in their center.  _ What am I thinking? I can’t take this on my conscience! _

But it was too late to back down. “You think what?”, prompted White evenly. Red glimpsed a strange spark of curiosity in their gaze, piercing the fog of pain that had surrounded the commanding pod since the system was activated. 

“I think they were running away from the body.” Red paused, drawing a deep breath. “I think they may have killed Green.” 

“Do you have anything to say to that, Black?”, White asked, looking to them expectantly. 

Black’s stare was neutral and impassive. “Wasn’t me”, they said simply. 

Gazes now turned on Red. “How do we know it wasn’t you?”, Purple asked suspiciously. “You seem quite quick to pin blame.” 

The mechanical voice cut through. “One minute remaining! Please cast your votes!”

Red knew who they were voting for. They just desperately hoped it was the right decision. 

This time, the pods were wary as they cast their votes, moreso than they had been last time. They hid their comm displays, suspicion glittering in their gazes alongside a hint of fear. A product of the pervasive paranoia, Red supposed. And they weren’t immune to it either. 

“Voting has now closed! Let’s take a look at the results.” 

The large display projected up from the table. Red waited with bated breath as the small icons popped up. Panic shot through them as one, two,  _ three _ icons pulled up next to their name: Black’s, Yellow’s, and Purple’s. But thankfully, Black too had gotten votes. Red, Blue, White, and Lime; enough to eject them rather than Red. Still, Red was terrified. It was too close. There were only seven of them left. They had only lived by  _ one vote.  _ Suddenly, their position seemed far more precarious. 

~~~

They had gotten Black. They had  _ actually gotten Black. _

Green felt a hint of shame at the satisfaction they felt seeing their killer become the killed. But mostly satisfaction. Justice was sweet, bringing them out of their regular low mood. 

“Looks like you have chosen to eject Black! Activating protocol.”

Orange and Pink floated there too, watching the arms rose from the floor to grab Black. All three of the ghosts came to these meetings. Or rather, had to come to the meetings. Just as in life, in death too were they pulled to this table in the cafeteria’s center. Not that they could do anything. Only discuss among themselves. It was almost worse, having the knowledge of who the killer was but able to do nothing with it. Still, Green felt profoundly grateful not to have to take part in what was potentially the killing of an innocent. 

Black’s protests were weak. Mostly they just glared. The arms brought them to the airlock as all, living and dead, watched. The living were, naturally, far more nervous than the dead, lacking the knowledge the three ghosts had. 

Relief filled Green’s empty center as Black was tossed out the airlock. It was like having a weight lifted. They already had enough weight as it was. 

The living pods waited tensely, listening for the voice to confirm what the ghosts already knew. “Fantastic decision, crew!”, it said. “Analyzing reaction!” There was a brief pause, and then an abrupt kickback. It barely affected Green’s light body, but all the living pods were thrown back. “Congratulations!”, it chirped. “Black was an imposter! There is one imposter remaining. You are free to go.”

The force that held them in place lifted, and Green could move again. They turned away from the living crew, who were still reeling, to face the other two ghosts. Well, mostly Pink. Green disliked Orange, but not enough to confront them. Especially after how they blew up at them that first vote. 

Orange spoke first. “Wow. Those idiots actually got something right.” They smirked. “I’m surprised.” 

“ _ I’m  _ glad”, Pink said. “One less killer out there. I do hope they find the other one soon, though.” 

All three ghosts were startled by a rush of wind. Green spun. Their gaze widened. 

“You!”, cried Pink. 

Floating there, in front of Green, Pink, and Orange, was Black. 

Green’s relief at seeing Black gone was immediately crushed, the weight settling back over them. Black was _still here._ _Will I never be free?_ It was as if their life- afterlife, they supposed- always had to go wrong in some way or another. They had barely had time to adjust to death, and now their killer was here, inescapable. 

Pink continued to be the only ghost able to form words. “G- get away!”, they stammered, holding out their hands as if they hoped to stop the monster. Black’s gaze was as emotionless as always. But now, Green saw in it something more, a cruel edge. 

Orange spoke up, cocky tone shaken. “You’re done. I’m not quite sure how, but my incompetent crewmates found you out. Would you just leave us alone?” 

Black’s expression cracked into a malicious smile. It was more disturbing than their closed off persona had ever been. “You pathetic beings think you have won?” They laughed. “You have no idea.” 

As if on cue, an alarm began to blare, red lights flashing. Green jumped. 

“What… did you…”, Pink stammered fearfully. 

“I did”, Black said, their voice honey. “And I will continue to do so. What you small, small lifeforms see is so incredibly narrow. You can never beat us in any way that matters. We can fool you, blend in.” They looked pointedly at each present ghost. When their gaze met Green’s, a spasm of terror clutched them so tight they felt they would die for the second time. “We pick you off, one, by, one. We already got the three of you.” Their malevolent gaze turned to Orange. “Although, I suppose my associate and I can’t take all the credit. You pick yourselves off too!” They laughed again, deep and cruel. “Now. If you will excuse me, I still have work left to do. I imagine you do as well, even if it is pointless. Ta ta!” They gave a little wave before turning away. 

The ghosts just floated there. Finally, Orange asked, in a voice meeker than Green had ever heard them: “What now?”

Green could only remain silent. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone who reads this, I appreciate you so much. This is still my first foray into non-crack fanfiction, and although I'm not the most engaging or creative writer I hope some people can enjoy this little story I have sunk much time into.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew discovers something new. Green reflects.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The way I work really is I do a lot of stuff in a short period of time and then you don't see me for a month. But if it works, it works I guess. This chapter is a little bit longer, probably closer to what the average will be for this story on the regular. I hope you like it!

Morale was bolstered slightly after Black was ejected. Among most of the crew, that is. Red themself felt more paranoid, having been so close to being voted out. Especially around Purple and Yellow. The latter was particularly unfortunate, considering Red and Yellow shared a cabin. Red supposed they could take the cabin across from theirs, where Black and Orange had formerly resided, but they weren’t yet that desperate. Despite their paranoia, they still clung to some shred of normalcy. It would feel…  _ wrong  _ to just move into the cabin of the dead, particularly when one had been, unknown to the crew, a killer. 

Still, Red did not rest easy. They did their best to plan their down time so it did not overlap with Yellow’s, but doing that had the consequence of reducing their down time overall, leaving them even more exhausted than ever. Not that any of the crew were getting much rest anyway. 

Apparently, Blue noticed. They approached Red while they were aligning the output of the upper engine. “Hey, are you ok?”, they asked gently, concern in their gaze. 

Red looked down, ashamed. “I’m fine.”

Blue moved closer. “You don’t seem fine. You look exhausted. You’ve been getting so little rest, and you’re always jumpy.” They paused and gave Red an earnest look. “I want to help you. I don’t like seeing you like this.”

Red tightened their center, trying to tamp down their emotions. They couldn’t break down in front of Blue. They were the one pod on this ship they trusted, really trusted. They could put their life in Blue’s hands. Red could not drive them away. 

Red took a deep breath, then sighed. “Ok. I guess I’m not doing the best after… after I was almost voted out. Ejected.” Red shivered. “Killed.” 

“Oh”, Blue breathed. “I didn’t even think about that.”

“It’s- It’s ok”, Red said quickly. “I’m fine, I’m dealing with it. I’m just… a little paranoid, that’s all.”

Blue suddenly came in and wrapped Red in a hug. “It’s ok to not be ok. Take all the time you need. And if there’s anything, anything at all I can do to help, don’t hesitate to ask.” 

Red breathed out a sigh as some of the tension lifted from their center. “Thank you”, they whispered to Blue. 

“Anytime”, Blue whispered back. 

\---

It was Yellow who found the third body. 

The message came to Red’s comm while they were alone in shields. There was the pinching sensation, and then they were around the table. It felt noticeably emptier, now with merely half the pods who had embarked on this mission still alive. Just five of them: Blue, Yellow, Lime, White, and Red themself. 

The voice touted its usual accursed spiel. Red ignored it. It was always the same. 

Yellow was a wreck. They cried, shaking all over. Panicky fear filled their gaze. Still, Red wondered if it was all an act. 

White took charge. They seemed to have regained much of their former confidence since Black was ejected; the reassurance that their decision had done some good, Red supposed. As a result, they’d taken much of their leadership back from Blue. “We cannot let our guard down”, they said. “Let’s go through everyone’s alibis so we can make the most informed decision. Blue?”

“I was in electrical.” 

“Can anyone corroborate that?” Silence. 

“Ok, then.” White continued. “Red?”

“I was in shields.”

“Did anyone see you?” Silence again. 

White nodded, gaze considering. “How about you, Lime?” 

“I believe I was in… Oxygen?” 

“Alone?”

Lime nodded. 

“Alright. That leaves Yellow.”

It took Yellow a moment to speak as they quieted their crying. When their voice came out it was almost unintelligible. “I was going to admin, and I got there, but then I found…” Yellow let out several sobs. “The body.” And there they broke down. Red couldn’t blame them, but a prickle of suspicion dampened their sympathy. 

White seemed unsure about what to do to comfort Yellow. They ended up plowing on in their speech. “I was in reactor. It seems like we were all in separate parts of the ship. None of us can confirm each other’s stories.”

“Two minutes remaining! Please cast your votes”, the mechanical voice chimed in. 

Red really had no idea what they were going to do. They had no good leads. Red couldn’t be sure, or even confident, in voting to eject any of the five pods here. 

They looked down at their comm to the voting display, as if that could somehow give them answers. Then, they noticed something. A different small bar at the bottom left of the display. It read “Skip”. 

Red stared. Had they somehow missed it before? And more… could it do what Red hoped in their center it might? 

Lime spoke. “Does everyone else see the new button? At least, I think it’s new, I may have just missed it before. It says skip?”

Red nodded, and was relieved to see everyone else nod too. 

Red did not want to speak up at a meeting again after last time it had almost got them killed. Luckily, Yellow did instead. “Do you think it could…”

“We should try”, White said. “We really don’t have any leads. It would certainly be the best option.”

“Please cast your votes!”, the mechanical voice came. It somehow carried an edge of impatience, which was odd to hear. 

Red looked between the four other pods, meeting their crewmates’ gazes before pushing the skip button. They hoped, as they often did, that they wouldn’t regret this. 

“Voting has now closed!”, said the voice, any edge gone. “Let’s take a look at the results!” 

The display projected. The skip button was there too. Red watched, tense. 

Every icon popped up next to the skip button. 

Each pod held their breath, awaiting to see what choosing skip would do. Hoping it would truly let them skip ejecting someone. 

No arms rose from the floor. No mechanical whirring occurred. “You have chosen to skip vote! No one was ejected”, the voice finally said, chipper as ever. Red felt the subtle force holding them in place release. “You are now free to go.”

A wave of jubilation swept over the crew. Red felt an immense sense of relief. This was  _ amazing. _ This new option… they didn’t have to make uncertain decisions anymore. They didn’t have to kill. 

They did not notice Blue slip away.

~~~

Green floated behind Lime, watching as they worked on reconnecting the wires in comms, broken again.  _ No surprise there. Nothing seems to go right on this ship.  _

Once more among countless times, Green floated in front of Lime. And again, Lime gave no reaction. 

It had taken some… getting used to, death. Movement still felt strange. And it pained Green profoundly to be invisible, intangible, imperceptible. They’d felt invisible enough in life; it had seemed to them no one noticed them. But it hurt more when it was literal.

Orange was just as jerkish as a ghost. Green did their best to avoid them around the ship. But Pink, at least, was kind. Sometimes Green sought them out, if just for the companionship of someone who could actually perceive them. Purple had- had died only recently. Green wasn’t quite sure about them. They’d never had the most involved relationship when they both lived, but they had never seemed outright unbearable like Orange. 

Black was a whole separate issue. They terrified Green to their hole of a center. Whenever Green caught a glimpse of Black, they cowered as their world seemed to dilate, mind focused only on avoiding their killer. They were so different from how Green had thought they knew them. The neutrally silent facade they had had when they were alive was evidently just a persona, another part of their deception. 

Still, Green had a lot of time on their hands. Tasks ran out rather quickly, and they didn’t want to pester any of the other ghosts to initiate awkward conversation. So, more and more, they’d found themself following the crew members. Not in a creepy way! (They hoped). They simply found pod watching the best available way to pass the time, when they couldn’t interact with anything but unfinished tasks. 

Green sometimes saw Pink following behind crewmates too. They often seemed lonely. Green couldn’t blame them. 

So now, Green watched Lime.

Out of all the crew on this accursed ship, Lime was the one Green missed the most by far. Sure, they had built relationships with their other crewmates. Pink had always been nice, but they were nice to everyone. White had made calculated small talk, but it was just that: calculated. Green had never felt real trust with White. 

But Lime? Lime had been the one to not just approach Green, but to  _ stay.  _ Even when Green was awkward and just let Lime ramble on, Lime still stayed. 

Green thought back to that first day on the Skeld. They hadn’t really even wanted to come on this mission. This was their parent’s dream, not theirs. But Green had been groomed for this their entire life. Life on this ship couldn’t be any worse than life planetside, anyway. Still, when the day had come, Green couldn’t help but dread the liftoff. 

Arrival was no better. Green hadn’t even wanted to leave the transport. What was the point? They’d unstrapped and stood- it felt like a necessary courtesy- but hadn’t moved beyond that. The rest of the crew had gradually left, grouping up and heading their various ways to explore the ship. 

Except Lime. They’d stayed on the transport, looking awkward, until it was just Lime and Green alone. 

Lime had approached Green. 

“So, everyone else left”, they stated, glancing around. “You want to?”

Green gave a shrug and muttered “okay.” 

“Cool… then”, Lime said. They started walking. So did Green.

The ship seemed cold to Green. Sharp steel, impeccably new and clean. Sterile. 

Green and Lime moved through the rooms. All the same. Green wished they weren’t here. 

A voice, Lime’s voice, interrupted their melancholy thoughts. “Oxygen. Interesting.”

“Mm hm”, Green mumbled. 

“I’ve looked over the map so many times, but you really don’t get a feel for where everything is until you’re really there.” Their gaze flicked upwards. There was a window in the roof, opening into the vacuum. “Stars are so weird. They just… start fusion at a certain mass and then we can see them in the sky, but they’re all so far away, but so big.” 

Green looked up too. “Yeah”, they said quietly. “I guess so.”

“You’re Green, right?”, Lime asked. 

Green nodded. 

“Great, great. Just wanted to make sure.” They stopped and looked around. “How’d you get here?”

“How’d I…”

Lime made a gesture with their hands. “Why are you… How’d you decide to join the mission! That’s it.” 

“Oh”, Green said. “I… I’m here to pioneer civilization.” 

“You don’t sound very happy about that.”

Green wrung their hands, nervousness beginning to rise. They weren’t sure what to say. They didn’t want to disgrace their parent, they couldn’t. “It’s an important duty.”

“Hm. Okay.” Lime didn’t press. That was odd, but welcomely so. 

Lime continued to keep up a one sided dialogue, speaking up here and there to offer facts or random observations. It was nice, Green thought. Lime was genuinely interesting, something Green didn’t find themself feeling often. 

Finally, at the end of their loop around the ship, Green decided to pitch into the conversation. “This was… nice. Thank you.” 

Lime’s gaze widened. “You actually enjoyed that? Oh, good! I was worried you hated me or something!” 

Green shrunk back a little at this. They didn’t want to be a burden. They were always a burden. 

Confusion flashed across Lime’s face. “Did I say something wrong?” 

“No,  _ you  _ did nothing wrong”, Green said, voice devoid of enthusiasm. 

Lime still looked confused. “Oh… ok. I’ll see you around, then.” They turned, heading for the cabins. 

A wave of desperation washed Green’s center. “Wait!”, they called. They immediately regretted it as their mind looped through everything they were doing  _ wrong _ , but Lime had already heard. They gave a startled jump and turned around before relaxing again. It was too late to back down now. 

“I, um”, they began awkwardly. “Thank you. Again. I- hope to see you around too.”

Lime’s confusion brightened into a smile. “Great!”, they said, giving a small wave before turning and walking away. 

And Green had seen Lime again. They struck up a friendship. And Green really did feel good about it. Lime gave them a chance, and Green came to truly care about them. 

Until their death, that is. 

It had taken a while to sink in, sure. But it was overall incredibly strange. And saddening. Almost angering. Their friendship with Lime had been something special, at least to Green. Lime had brightened their life in a way nothing had in a long time. They almost made being forced on this journey worth it. 

But all for naught. Lime would leave. Or else be killed. And Green would linger here, forever to lament. 

All they could do now was do their tasks, help keep the ship running, and hope their futile work would somehow help get Lime, and the rest of the crew, home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you sincerely for reading. A special shoutout to everyone who comments on this story, your kind words give me life.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red reflects, and the crew dwindles further.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at me, writing. I had a time getting this up to at least 2000 words, but we did it boys! I thank my lovely friend for the motivation and kind comments. Gearing up for the end here!

Red’s own mood was higher after that last vote. The new skip option was freeing, somehow. It seemed to have similarly lifted the rest of the crew’s spirits as well. It was still strange to have so few of them, though. Having just half the crew the mission was supposed to increased everyone’s workload. 

Still, there was the odd sense that there was something, some force, aiding the crew. Broken wires would show up fixed again, or the course would be charted without anyone actually going to nav to chart it (or so they said. Red still harbored a deep-seated mistrust towards all the pods they shared the ship with). 

Red made their way across the ship to nav, having just gone through a very tedious chain of data downloads. Now, they had decided to complete their considerably easier duty of stabilizing steering. They spotted Blue when they got there. They knew they should be uneasy around every pod, but they still went over to Blue. They could trust Blue. 

“Hey”, Red greeted. 

“Hey”, Blue replied. They had a haggard look to them, but then again so did the entirety of the pitiful crew. They still carried a comforting kind of confidence, and more than that a warmth in their gaze when they saw Red. 

Meeting Blue’s gaze, all Red’s flimsy walls that held back the churning ocean of fear and stress and exhaustion suddenly collapsed, and they began to cry softly. They turned away, not wanting Blue to see them like this.

But Blue noticed, and immediately left their task to bring Red up in a hug. That was immensely comforting, and Red leaned into it readily. Neither of them spoke, simply drawing comfort from each other's presence. 

“Thank you”, Red finally murmured. 

“Always”, Blue replied. The two pods stepped back from each other. Red was struck by just how much trust and faith they put in Blue. They were their support out here. Red hoped they were that to Blue too. 

“I have something in engines, so I’m going to just…” Blue awkwardly gestured to the hallway. 

Red smiled. “See you around.” They gave Blue one last quick hug before waving goodbye to them, and Blue left nav. Red was now alone with just the persistent, perpetual humming of the ship’s inner workings.  _ It’s so strange _ , Red thought,  _ how the ship just keeps going, on and on, regardless of how awful everything gets for us.  _

Red finished up their task and headed for their quarters. They still had a long list of tasks to do, but they felt like they would drop at any moment if they didn’t get some rest. Fixing some wires and starting the reactor could wait. 

Red was very happy to see that Yellow wasn’t in their shared cabin. The ship was so empty now. They settled down on their cot.  _ Just a short rest,  _ they thought. 

Their short rest was very rudely interrupted by a now oh-so-familiar flashing red lights and blaring alarm. Red looked at their comm wearily; oxygen.  _ Just like that first time,  _ they thought ruefully. They pushed themself out of their cot to head to fix it; with so few crewmates left, they couldn’t afford to assume someone else would handle it. 

Reluctantly, exhaustion heavy (the exhaustion was always so heavy), Red made their way to the oxygen terminal. They decided to go for the one in admin; it was closer. They would love to go back to their cot, but now that they were up they supposed they were obligated to finish their tasks. 

No one else was in admin when Red arrived.  _ Well enough _ , they thought.  _ At least I didn’t come here for nothing.  _ They got to inputting the code, and soon enough, the alarm stopped. 

Red released their breath as the lighting returned to normal. Leaning back against the metallic wall, it occured to Red to wonder who could be doing all this.  _ What could the imposters hope to gain?  _ They sighed, brushing off the matter. It had no bearing what the imposters thought; they were here, and they were picking them off. 

“We can’t continue like this”, Red whispered, addressing no one. 

A reply came, startling Red. “Hm?” It was Lime, passing by in the hallway. They had stopped and were peering into admin through the doorway, gaze fixed curiously on Red. 

“Oh. Nothing”, Red said, a peeking sense of unease rising in them at being alone with Lime. Out of everyone, those still alive at least, Red trusted Lime and Yellow the least. They certainly didn’t want to be alone with them. 

“Are you sure?”, Lime asked. Red inched closer to the doorway, hoping to slip past Lime, without suspicion. Their center grew tenser by the second. 

“Yep!”, Red said, strained. “Now, I have a task in security, so don’t mind me just slipping by here.” 

“Okay”, Lime said unsurely. 

“Great.” 

Red left as fast as they could without betraying their fear. 

\---

Red was with White in medbay. They didn’t like being alone with anyone but Blue, and even that still made them jumpy, but White wasn’t the pod they were the most scared of. Their easy confidence and leadership seemed too earnest to be an act, but who was Red to tell? Anyone could be an imposter. 

“Who do you think it is?”, White suddenly asked, startling Red from their thoughts. 

Red looked at the floor. “I don’t know”, they answered truthfully. 

Red heard White sigh. They turned back to their task. White soon left, leaving Red alone in Medbay. Red finished up as well, heading out in a separate direction. 

That would be the last time they saw White. 

The body was reported by Blue, and Red was whisked out of weapons with the same sensation as always. It was strange how used to it they were. But then again, everything about this experience was strange. How they wished they could take it all back, and never have come here. 

_ Although,  _ Red mused as they took in the faces of their fellow crew members arranged around the table.  _ There have been some good parts to this.  _ Their gaze landed on Blue. 

But Red couldn’t say it was worth all the horror, paranoia, and exhaustion they had endured. So disillusioned did they feel now that Red couldn’t even recall how they could ever have wanted to come on this mission. 

The table felt so empty now. 

Just a mere four of the ten original crew left. Blue, Yellow, Lime, Red. 

With White gone, there was a sense of directionlessness among the group. It was uncomfortable and wrong. An essential pillar of life on Skeld III was gone. Sure, White had faltered in their leadership before, but now they were  _ gone.  _

It hurt. 

Red looked to Blue, both their companion and the other figure of leadership among the now pitifully small crew. So did Yellow and Lime. Blue drew a breath and clasped their hands. “Well. I think…”, they faltered, looking away. “We have to do something.” 

Lime nodded, cocking their head ponderously. “Yeah. If we don’t vote out the imposter now, it’ll be two to one.” 

Blue took another shaky breath. “Alibis, then.” 

“Engines.”

“Weapons.” 

“Shields.” 

_ All different places,  _ Red thought, a combination of frustration and fear welling.  _ Nothing helpful.  _ A suspicion came to them, and their narrowing gaze shifted to Lime. “Shields is awfully close to comms.” 

Lime had no reaction to the accusation for a moment. Then, their face shifted into fear. “Wait. Me? I didn’t kill White!”

Yellow came in with their timid voice. “You do seem like the most likely culprit.” 

Blue’s gaze met Red’s in a silent question and a hint of surprise: “Are you sure?” Red gave a slight nod, and Blue fixed their gaze shrewdly (was that a touch of cruelty? No.) on Lime’s. “I hope we’re making the right choice.”

Lime began to cry, an utter and raw fear piercing their wail. Red didn’t buy it.  _ Anyone could be an imposter.  _

“Seven minutes remaining!”, the mechanical voice chirped. Red absently noted that this was the fastest the crew had ever come to a decision. 

Red voted. 

~~~

No, no,  _ no. _

This couldn’t be happening. No. Not to  _ Lime.  _

Green wanted to cry. They would’ve, if they could. But this cursed body, on this cursed plane, in this  _ stupid  _ cursed ship, wouldn’t let them. 

Instead, they screamed, a piercing wail wrought with anguish. “No, no,  _ no! _ You can’t do this! No! Leave them alone, leave them alone-” They floated after the cold mechanical arms as they held Lime, who themself was sobbing. Green floated across them, laying their body over Lime’s, trying to  _ do  _ something, anything. 

What was the point of doing all these  _ stupid  _ tasks if they couldn’t do anything to save their friend? 

Distantly, the voices of the other ghosts reached Green. They hardly heard them. 

By now, Green’s screams had broken down into an animalistic moan. They couldn’t do anything, they couldn’t do  _ anything,  _ they thought over and over again. Lime was innocent; this Green knew and believed with their entire being. They had told Green about their life planetside. They had a life, family, friends who loved them. They had ambitions- hadn’t they said how if they ever went back, they dreamed of visiting the nine great falls? 

What was the point if they couldn’t let Lime make it back safely? 

Lime, too, had ceased their cries, and now lay limp and shivering in the clutches of the ship’s cruel appendages. Green could only watch as the airlock opened. Green had  _ wanted  _ to activate this stupid system which was now killing their dearest friend. 

The arms lifted Lime’s limp form. 

They threw Lime out of the ship. 

Out into the vacuum. 

The cold, dark expanse of space. 

Green once again screamed. 

Vainly, they tried to follow Lime’s body out.  _ They shouldn’t be alone, they shouldn’t be alone,  _ Green thought desperately. They didn’t deserve the cold, cruel death of space, not with the light they had brought Green. 

But all Green could do was watch. 

They floated there for a long time. 

Then- “Green?” 

Green turned around to see Lime in a form as ghostly as their own. Just Lime; all the other pods, ghostly and alive, had left at some point. Sobs Green’s breathless body couldn’t properly express the wreck from the hole of a center. “I’m so sorry, so sorry”, Green uttered over and over again. “I’m so sorry, I tried, I tried to protect you but I couldn’t protect you-” 

A teary kind of relief glinted in Lime’s gaze as they stared at Green. They weren’t glancing around or preoccupied like usual. All their attention focused on Green. 

“Is that really you?”, they finally asked. 

Green’s rambling died out as they gave a nod. And Lime… smiled. Then they flew to Green, only to pass through their body with a surprised “oh!”. 

They turned back to Green, their stare turned quizzical. “Sorry, there’s a lot going on. What’s happening?” 

Green was still a mess of conflicting emotions. But they managed to choke out, “I let you d-die…”

Lime blinked for a moment before their expression changed. “Oh, deities, you’re guilty! Please don’t feel guilty! I’m ok, look, I’m here, and deities am I bad at emotions-”

Green looked up at Lime. “Aren’t you upset?” they asked, still attempting to get a hold of themself. 

“Upset?”, Lime asked. They cocked their head. “Well, I mean now that you mention it, I guess a little. But death’s kind of a shock like that, ya know? Numbing. But right now I’m just happy to see you! I thought I’d never see you again!”

Confusion ran through Green. “You’re… happy to see me?” 

“Of course, you idiot!”, they said affectionately. “I’d love to give you a hug but…” they made a noise and gestured to their form. “Now, you have so much to tell me.” They paused. “If you’re ok now?” Their gaze was back to darting around, taking in everything. 

Green’s sobs died down. This was really Lime, here with them. A tiny spark of hope flickered in their center. Lime wasn’t mad at them. Lime still cared. “I guess there is... some stuff I can show you.”

“Awesome!”, Lime said eagerly. “Let’s go!” 

And in that moment, Green thought that maybe, truly, things could actually turn out okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That scene between Green and Lime was one of the first I wrote, I was so hyped for that because ~ghost angst~ with a payoff. Hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was it. Three pods left. Two possible outcomes. One imposter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE IT IS!!!!! The final chapter! I'm sorry it took so long. I'm so proud of this. I actually finished an over 14,000 word Among Us fanfiction I wrote because of a tumblr post. Thanks so much to everyone who's stuck with this story through its whole journey. Enjoy this conclusion!

Oh deities. Oh  _ deities.  _

The crew had been wrong.  _ Red had been wrong.  _ Lime wasn’t an imposter. 

They couldn’t trust anyone. 

Looks of shock that mirrored their own came across the other two pods’ faces. One of them was false. One of them was the imposter. 

All Red wanted to do was leave. Get away. Escape. They had to run, take time, scream away these terrible feelings in their center. As soon as the force holding them in place, they ran, pushing away from the table with as much force they could muster and hurtling into the hall. No protests followed them. 

Their feet pounded on hollow metal, echoing too-loud in the empty corridor, the too-empty corridor with no pulses of life. Red didn’t know where they were running; they were just running away. 

Red sprinted blindly, running and running as locations blurred and time dilated. Then Red stopped, all energy suddenly gone from their body. They collapsed to the ship’s cold metal floor, heaving in sharp breaths as their mind continued to whirl and fear coursed through them unceasingly. 

They couldn’t have told you how long they laid there, but when they finally looked up they found themself in Nav, the little lights on the console blinking impassively. It was empty, with only the ship’s steady hum to serve as company. It could have been peaceful in another circumstance. 

Red pushed themself to their feet and stared blankly out the front window into space.  _ Those stars were beautiful once.  _ Now, they were just sharp, cruel, dangerous. A reminder of all the distance between Red and any semblance of safety. 

Another sob rose up and wracked Red’s body as it hit them that they had not only been wrong, they had killed, inadvertently  _ murdered  _ an innocent. They had been wrong about Lime,, and they had been the one to convince the others to vote them off. 

“I can’t take this on my conscience,” they sobbed softly, addressing no one but themself. 

\---

Life went on, so much worse than before. Every time, Red thought it couldn’t get worse. Every time they were wrong. At least now, they thought there was no conceivable way this abysmal, spirit-breaking situation could get worse. 

They were probably wrong. 

Red could not fully trust either of their comrades, not even Blue. They hated the wave of dread they now felt when Blue entered a room. They had the same feeling towards Yellow, but that was familiar. They had felt it ever since Yellow had almost voted them out. 

But Blue, their support, their  _ friend.  _ To mistrust them, lose them in a way, it hurt Red. 

Despite the paranoia, there were times Red, who’s stability was already fraught, a rope a single fraying string away from snapping, couldn’t keep it up. They broke down a lot. They wondered if the others fell apart as much as they did. If so, they didn’t see it. The other pods showed fear, of course. But was it all false? 

The day after that awful vote, Red was crying through trying to calibrate the distributor. When they heard footsteps entering the room, they instantly stiffened. 

Whoever had arrived didn’t speak up, so Red had to turn to see it was Blue. They met Red’s gaze briefly before turning away. Was that a hint of sadness in its gleam? 

Red wanted to speak to them, they  _ did,  _ but they were just so scared and strained and they couldn’t open up to anyone because everywhere was danger. Blue seemed to inch closer before they both turned to see a third pod enter electrical, sending a shiver across Red’s center. Yellow.  _ Obviously. There are only three of us left… _ A moan escaped Red.

They finally were able to line up the rotating bars. With a prick of relief Red checked their comm to see they only had one more task for today, a card swipe in Admin. They left electrical, and behind them heard the footsteps of another pod leaving as well, these footsteps moving in the opposite direction. Red didn’t bother looking back to see who it was. 

Down the hall, empty. Through storage, empty. Another hall, empty. Admin,  _ empty.  _ It was silent but for the beeps of the reader rejecting Red’s ID and their frustrated cries as they tried to get the deitiesdamned thing to accept their card. 

There was a metallic crash. Red froze, hand hovering above the card reader. 

Another crash came, sounding as if it came from below the ship’s floor. They spun from where they stood by the table to see…

No. 

_ No.  _

It was Blue, body squeezed in a wholly unnatural way, coming out of the vent. Compressed. Misshapen.  _ Alien.  _

In that moment, that split second flash, Brown’s message from Skeld II came back into Red’s mind. The running. The screaming. The pounding and the wet snap of bodies breaking. 

Red  _ ran.  _ They distantly heard a call of “Wait!”, but barely registered it through their sobs, vision blurring. Terror, sadness, and above all betrayal twisted and pounded at their center. 

The words from behind them twisted into an utterly alien snarl, cruel and malicious. Red’s center clenched as their breath quickened and their two feet pounded harder, why couldn’t they run faster, why couldn’t they run  _ faster…  _

_ Not Blue, not Blue! _ , they wanted to scream. The mistrust, why did it have to cumulate this way, why did it have to be  _ Blue _ ?

How long had they been an imposter? Was any part of their friendship real? 

Red forcefully shoved their emotions down. They couldn’t let themself be overwhelmed. They had to get to the emergency meeting button and use the system; they couldn’t take their friend-  _ no, not their friend-  _ in a fight. If they couldn’t they would meet the same fate of all the rest who had died.  _ How many had Blue killed?  _

They stumbled as a sob shook their body. Terror flashed in their center as they heard a predatory laugh behind them, and the footsteps pursuing them increased in pace. Red pushed themself off the hard metal, almost slipping but managing to get back to their feet. 

The cafeteria felt so far despite the fact that it was just down the hall. Every foot seemed a mile. 

Red shot through the door to the cafeteria. They just had to cross it, hit that button- 

“No!”, they heard Blue screech behind them as their palm pressed the red button. It sounded so unlike them. Red’s sob’s grew harder as the pinching sensation came briefly, and then they were at the table. Just three pods.  _ Just three.  _

Somehow, within a second all of Blue’s terrifying menace had been completely concealed. They wore an expression of light worry. They looked just like Red’s friend. They could have, wanted to believe that none of what had just happened was real. They wanted to  _ so badly.  _ But they couldn’t forget the horrible image of Blue’s body contorting, squishing like jelly out of the too-small vent in the corner of admin. It was seared in their mind, playing across their gaze. 

“Red, what happened? Why did you call a meeting?”, Blue asked. The concern in their gaze, their tone, it was all  _ too much.  _ They seemed in every way Red’s friend. 

But they  _ weren’t.  _

“IT’S  _ YOU! _ ” Red spat. 

Surprise came over Blue’s face. It was so perfectly feigned.  _ Why  _ did they have to be so good at imitating emotions, manipulating Red’s care for them?

“What?”, Yellow interjected, voice trembling. “What’s going on?”

“You’re the imposter”, Red cried. It began as a scream, but the last syllable dissolved into a sob. “You tried to kill me.” 

“Red, are you ok?”, Blue asked, tilting their head. “I was in shields.” Their gaze grew colder, cruel for a second, before morphing into a perfect imitation of hurt. “Are you trying to cover up something  _ you  _ did?” Blue choked in a short breath. “Are you the imposter?”

Red couldn’t answer that, too floored by the  _ audacity  _ of this alien. They had manipulated Red, betrayed Red, and now they were trying to play mind games and get Red voted out instead? Red couldn’t bring themself to even look at Blue. Instead, they turned to Yellow. “Vote. Them. Out”, Red said, each word trembling. 

Yellow didn’t seem to know what to do, their gaze flitting rapidly between Red and Blue. 

“Three minutes remaining!”, chirped the voice. It didn’t even bother Red anymore, so drowning they were in the tide of emotions crashing within them. 

Red voted without hesitation. Blue made a whole show of looking heartbroken as they glanced between their comm and Red, but when Yellow glanced away Red could swear they saw a cruel smirk cross Blue’s face. 

Only Yellow remained. They had all the power. 

“Yellow, please”, Blue said, choking back a pretend sob. “We have to do this.”

“Stop it!”, Red bursted. “You betrayed me! You hurt me! Just fucking STOP!”

That shut them both up. 

Yellow took one last look between Red and Blue. Then, trembling, they lifted their comm and cast their vote. 

“Voting has now closed!”  _ This will be the last time I hear that _ , Red thought.  _ One way or another.  _

“Let’s check out the results!” The display projected up. So many names gone dark. Red’s icon popped up to Blue’s, and Blue’s next to Red. No surprise there. 

But it seemed to take days, years, before Yellow’s icon appeared. 

Next to Blue’s name. 

Red would have collapsed to the floor had that invisible force not held them standing. 

Yellow looked somehow more anxious than they ever had as their gaze darted between Blue and Red. The system engaged, the arms coming up and grabbing Blue. They cried, yelled tearily to Yellow about how they’d made a mistake, why had they done this? Blue turned their anguished gaze upon Red, crying how could they have betrayed them, they thought they were friends. Red tried to block it out, they had to block it out.  _ It’s false, it’s an act,  _ they repeated in their mind, like a mantra, like a lifeline. But it didn’t help. Red still cried as dread surged in them. What if they had been wrong, made a mistake?  _ What if they had just killed their friend?  _

The airlock opened with a hiss, and Blue was thrown out. Gone. 

“Analyzing results!”, came the chipper little mechanical voice, accompanied by the whirr of machinery. Red didn’t need to wait for its announcement; they already knew the results. But a corner of their mind screamed.  _ What if you were wrong, what if you just killed your closest friend out here?  _

Finally, the cheery little proclamation came, seeming to echo in the oh-so-empty cafeteria. “Blue was an imposter! Congratulations, crewmates! You win!” 

There was a burst of confetti.  _ Confetti.  _ Rage boiled up in Red, stronger than before. They wanted to punch something, break something,  _ hurt something.  _ They were holding so much hurt in their center, and the stupid system was acting like this was a victory. 

They had won  _ nothing.  _

The force released, and Red stumbled back. Just Red and Yellow. All that remained. 

Yellow was crying. Red only noticed that now. Their sobs were so minute, their shivering concealing them. Red figured the proper thing to do would be to comfort them. But they were in no state to do that. And there was a lingering little voice, the thoughts it supplied intrusive, prickling at the back of Red’s mind. It said  _ Trust no one. Anyone could be an imposter.  _

They knew that wasn’t true, rationally. It  _ wasn’t.  _ They were all gone, the system said they were all gone. The system had to be right; Red wouldn’t be able to take it if it wasn’t.

Although, they supposed they had to give themself some credit; they had thought they wouldn’t be able to take it if Blue was gone from the ship either.

Sorry job they were doing of that. 

The imposters were gone. There would be no more killing on the ship. They were safe. 

But at what cost? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Especial love to everyone who commented at any point, they give me great motivation to keep writing. Happy holidays!


End file.
